Living Voices: Richard Senate, California's Pioneer in Paranormal Research

By Bobby Garcia

From the Editor: Ghostvillage is pleased to announce Living Voices, a
series dedicated to personalities who influenced paranormal research and
investigation prior to paranormal reality TV. Living Voices seeks out
individuals of all persuasions, from parapsychologists to amateur investigators,
whose contributions are often unrealized among the large numbers of paranormal
enthusiasts currently defining the contemporary ghost hunting field. This series
hopes to celebrate the pionneers who made "ghost hunting" what it is today. Our
first installment is Richard Senate, and investigator and author who has been
around for a LONG time (and someone who has contributed to Ghostvillage). Thanks
for reading!

Digital equipment, highly sensitive microphones, and audio analyzing software
are common tools used by today's paranormal investigator. Rewind to 33 years ago
and you'll find that none of those gadgets were available. The hefty equipment
back then also came with a wagon to tote it around investigations. Richard
Senate remembers all too well those early days when he began his involvement in
paranormal research in the late 1970's.

Senate's Early Days

His fascination with the paranormal field began as the California-based
paranormal researcher was assisting with an archaeological dig at the Mission of
San Antonio de Padua.He found himself confronted with a full apparition of a
monk holding a candle walking on a path that intersected with the path he was
walking on.

"It was so real that I believed it was a real brother-that is until he vanished
before my eyes. I had several small encounters as a child such as seeing a white
figure under a tree where a man had hanged himself, but I dismissed them as
imagination and not real. I saw a figure of a woman in a mirror once -- I guess
I was about seven. But the major sighting was the monk."

Richard began to investigate with friends and family in nearby haunted locations
and always remained on the lookout for previously unexplored areas. He noticed
haunted houses were more common that one would think. Once as a college student
at California State University-Long Beach, he and some friends investigated the
claim of a ghost girl in the girls' dormitory. But being a young investigator,
there were... distractions at times.

"My friends and I got in there to investigate, but being college lads, we were
more interested in girls and booze than paranormal investigation. [The alleged
ghost] had killed herself so it seems and the room and corridor were haunted. I
never did much with this but now I wish I had.

Influences and Concerns

Delving deeper into researching paranormal phenomena, he began to read the works
of local parapsychologist D. Scott Rogo, paranormal pioneer Hans Holzer, and Dr.
Thelma Ross, who became known for her work in Kirlian photography as well as
parapsychology. He was fortunate enough to meet all three during his career and
even worked with Dr. Moss on several occasions. Among those that have helped him
through the years include Barry Conrad , Lillydale spiritual minister Rev.
Edmund Foard, and numerous psychics, including his own wife, Debbie, whom he met
in 1983.

The field has evolved since he first began and there is now more group
involvement by the community. But he does have some critical concerns of where
it is now going. With a higher number of those interested in investigating
paranormal phenomena, there will be added issues to deal with.

"I have seen the study grow mathematically in the last 11 years-but I am
uncomfortable with the direction," Senate says. "It has devolved into a confused
quest for fame and fortune rather than a study of an unknown phenomena. It is
now dominated by electronic equipment and gadgets -- the growth in this I
believe has hampered ghost hunting. EVP is perhaps the best example. I find many
groups are poorly led and do not share their data with others."

Senate's concerns echo what many others feel. He explains, "We need to work
together as we did in the old days. Too much high school-like drama is found in
today's paranormal investigations and too much back biting. I have been a victim
of attacks like this. Rumors and such have destroyed good research. One group I
know of never shares data and has all their files in boxes under the president's
bed. We will never be recognized as real science acting like a bunch of high
school sophomores."

And what about the effects of the many paranormal shows on TV today?

Senate expresses that, "...all the problems can be traced to the TV shows. The
new people do not innovate. They copy what they see on TV. They fail to see that
what's on TV isn't really ghost hunting. It is a TV show with motivations of
gaining ratings. TV ghost hunters are celebrities now."

He stresses that media culture doesn't really represent real investigation.
Senate explains that "real investigations take days and nights and cannot be
done in one hour. Some sites I have visited a dozen times. Much of real ghost
hunting is boring and tedious. Not the stuff of TV programs. Hours of boredom
with minutes or even seconds of terror. TV ghost shows have spread some bad
habits like 'ghost baiting,' yelling and insulting the ghosts in hopes of
getting something to happen. It's bad form. It makes good TV but now every ghost
group is doing this. Some have even turned to vandalism to get a ghostly
reaction. Some of the best sites are closing their doors to ghost hunters or
charging them to investigate. This isn't the way it was. We had ethics once."

Senate's Lasting Impact

Richard calls himself "old school" in his belief that there is a place for the
metaphysical in the study. He feels the two, the scientific and the
metaphysical, can work together and help on any investigation. He adds that
there seems to be more of an acceptance of this practice in England and Europe.
Senate has worked with many psychics through the years and as stated before, his
wife is a psychic medium herself.

He has become a fixture in the Ventura area as a paranormal lecturer,
investigator/researcher, and even tour guide to some of the areas most haunted
locations. He often leads investigations and tours of the 1847 Olivas adobe
structure which he has called one of the most haunted sites on the West coast
.There have been reported sightings of a woman in black, a little girl and boy,
a monk, and the phantom image of a horse. I can add to that list with my own
photo of a little girl I captured in the window of the upstairs room for the
children taken several years ago. He also has a ghost tour of the vintage 1912
Ventura City Hall where there have been claims of the ghost of a former judge
who passed away there. There is also the wife of a deputy who committed suicide
and the spirit of a murderess charged in a 1958 court case that involved the
killing of her daughter-in-law. One stroll through the marble-walled structure
at night and one can feel the energy within.

Senate believes that "historic events-- such as battles --leave psychic scars
upon the environment. Unfinished business is a prime cause for phantom
encounters. Any place where people have faced stressed is haunted. A background
in history is a must for any ghost hunter."

Here is one example: Senate feels that the clashes between different culture
groups of Ventura's past, such as the Chumash Native Americans, Spanish
missionaries, Mexican settlers, Yankee Americans and later, the Chinese, have
created psychic echoes. These may be some sources of various local ghostly
reports.

When asked about his most significant contribution to the field, he states this:
"The use of historic research in ghost hunting and re-stimulation by re-enacting
events of the past is one. I hope my books and media coverage have spawned new
interest in the subject. Acting as a spokesman may well be my best contribution,
but I leave that to history."

[Editor's Note: Senate also developed one of the earliest paranormal
websites, therefore contributing to the online and social networking aspect of
today's paranormal commmunity.]

As a self-described "old school" researcher, his approach to paranormal research
should be examined and used by new investigators. His use of history as a guide
to connecting the past and present is a practice that all should use. If you get
a chance to be in the Southern California area, check out his website for his
newsletter. You might be able to take one of his guided tours and chat with him
about a ghost story or two.

Bobby Garcia is a Member of Ghost Study Los Angeles with several years of
experience in paranormal study and research. He is an active researcher of
history and locations in the Los Angeles area.
Check out his group's
Facebook page.